Orange County starts to craft early retirement plan

GOSHEN — With the specter of potential layoffs looming, Orange County lawmakers Tuesday spent several hours fine-tuning a proposed retirement incentive that some hope will reduce the number of county employees forced out of their jobs.

Comment

By CHRIS MCKENNA

recordonline.com

By CHRIS MCKENNA

Posted Jul. 30, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated Jul 30, 2014 at 1:34 PM

By CHRIS MCKENNA

Posted Jul. 30, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated Jul 30, 2014 at 1:34 PM

» Social News

GOSHEN — With the specter of potential layoffs looming, Orange County lawmakers Tuesday spent several hours fine-tuning a proposed retirement incentive that some hope will reduce the number of county employees forced out of their jobs.

The joint meeting of two legislative committees concluded at 7:45 p.m. with the terms still in flux but with an agreement to resume the discussion Aug. 6 — one day before the full Legislature is set to meet and would take up the early retirement offer if endorsed by either panel.

During the course of back-to-back meetings that began at 3:30 p.m., there was little discussion about and no action taken on a separate proposal by County Executive Steve Neuhaus and his administration to lay off 50 employees. Legislators have pressed to defer voting on layoffs until seeing how many workers accept the retirement offer and how much money that would save the county.

Neuhaus, County Attorney Langdon Chapman and other county officials sat with legislators and took part in Tuesday's discussions, watched by a large audience of county employees in the auditorium of the county Emergency Services Center.

Though much of the conversation dealt with technical details of the retirement offer and how to encourage as many workers as possible to take it, Neuhaus also drove home the underlying reason for both resolutions he gave the Legislature: the $60 million deficit he and his staff expect to face in 2015.

"I'll take the heat because I've got to propose a balanced budget," Neuhaus said. "But we've got a huge deficit. That's where we are."

Two key issues were how much money to offer employees as an inducement to leave the work force, if they already are eligible to claim their state pensions, and how much — if anything — to require that their departure save the county. Based on the administration's proposal, workers would be given $7,500 to retire if the net savings to the county was at least $40,000, once any state or federal subsidies for their salaries are factored out.

Building on a suggestion by Democrat Roseanne Sullivan, Republicans Mike Anagnostakis and Jim DiSalvo developed a three-tier system with payments of $8,500, $12,000 and $15,000. The higher amounts would kick in if retirements reach 100 or 150 employees, under the amendment ultimately passed by the Ways & Means and Personnel & Compensation committees.

Lawmakers had removed the $40,000 savings threshold at a previous meeting, but discussed restoring a minimum while lowering it to $30,000 at Tuesday's meeting. Democrat Chris Eachus questioned why any minimum was necessary, if it would block any potential retirements.

"I don't think we need to add any number, as long as we save the county any money," Eachus said.

Based on the administration's proposal, employees would have to decide by Sept. 8 whether to take the retirement offer and would have to retire by Nov. 1. Lawmakers have proposed removing a stipulation that would extend the offer only to workers whose department heads have certified that "essential duties" would be performed without filling the job.